Israel
can only watch as the allies build bridges with the PalestiniansBy Virginia
Quirke, The
Sunday Herald, October 2001

Tony Blair and George Bush
may have come to the conclusion -- albeit belated -- that solving the Middle
East conflict is central to their war against terrorism. But Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, however shows no signs of playing along. He is even
refusing to talk to Yasser Arafat or to let Israeli foreign minister Shimon
Peres see the PLO leader. It remains to be seen how long he can adopt a
hard-line approach while both Bush and Blair signal an increasing willingness
to consider the long-disputed possibility of a Palestine state. Only yesterday
it was revealed that Blair had invited Arafat to London tomorrow to discuss
ways to reinvigorate the peace process.

In a prime-time press conference
last Thursday, President Bush said: 'I believe there ought to be a Palestinian
state ... so long as the Palestinian state recognises the right of Israel
to exist and will treat Israel with respect.'

Although the US has not presented
its emerging proposals to Israel nor the Palestinians, the plan has been
stated to affirm the Palestinians' right to a viable state -- with Jerusalem
as a shared capital. The plan would also include the principle of trading
land for peace and the fulfilment of UN resolutions 242 and 338, which
call for an Israeli withdrawal from lands it occupied in the 1967 war.Bush's remarks coincided with a
statement by Blair, during his visit to Cairo, in which he stressed that
solving the Palestinian cause is not only important to the Middle East,
but will help achieve stability all over the world.

Israeli cabinet minister Danny Naveh,
who speaks for the government, said last week that Israel had been kept
in the dark about a peace plan. ''I have to say that what I hear about
what's being said by the American gov ernment these days is a programme
that Israel cannot accept,' Naveh told Israeli radio.

Naveh said Israel staunchly opposes
''ideas which include at their core the establishment of a Palestinian
state with Jerusalem as its capital'.As Israeli-Palestinian fighting
continues, Sharon abhors any new initiatives, analysts say, especially
ones that foresee Israel sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians.

The Bush administration planned to
unveil a series of diplomatic initiatives for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
in September, during the UN General Assembly. However, that plan was shelved
in light of the attacks on the US.

On October 2 Bush used somewhat vaguer
language, saying: ''the idea of a Palestinian state has always been part
of a vision, so long as the right of Israel to exist is respected'.

Such public support for a Palestinian
state from a Republican a dministration had not been seen before, and the
move gave Sharon great cause for alarm. It appeared that, after a year
of intense Middle East violence which has left at least 624 Palestinians
and 125 Israelis dead, Israel's closest ally was on the point of exchanging
that friendship for an alliance with the world's Arab states, and more
precisely with the Palestinian people.

Israeli analyst Joseph Alpher says
Sharon and his right-wing partners in the national unity government will
have difficulty swallowing Bush's latest initiative.

In Sharon's eyes, the Palestinians
haven't made enough of an effort to stop terrorism. 'He sees Bush and Blair
just playing up to Arafat,'' Alpher says. Sharon's underlying panic has
already manifested itself in a bitterly worded speech in which he accused
the US of appeasing Arab countries.

He warned that Israel would not be
another Czech oslovakia -- a reference to the way European powers appeased
Germany by allowing her to annex the partly ethnic-German Sudetenland in
the run-up to the second world war.

In response to growing public concern,
thousands of Israelis have been visiting gas-mask distribution centres.
Israelis have reason to be concerned for their safety, because for many
Israel and the US are virtually one and the same state.

Since the campaign against terror
was launched, Israel has been flexing its muscles and trying hard to give
the impression that it is involved, although it has not been invited to
participate.

'Sharon has boasted that Israel is
supplying the Americans with invaluable intel ligence information, while
his spokesman has added that they are also providing logistical support,'
Israeli commentator Yoel Marcus has stated.

But, as it did during the the Gulf
war in January 1991 when the first of several Iraqi Scud missiles landed
in Tel Aviv, the US has warned Israel once again not to retaliate. Israel
has been instructed to sit on the sidelines again, and Sharon has been
told to avoid rash actions, lower the volume of the conflict, and embark
on a dialogue with the Palestinians.

For now, the role of the Palestinians
in the war against terror is to maintain calm in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
expressed his satisfaction regarding the statements of President Bush on
a Palestinian state. He said: ''We oppose terrorism because we have a just
cause, and because we remain the victims of the ugliest form of terrorism:
the occupation.''

An opinion poll on Arab-American
relations by the Palestinian university of Bir Zeit reflected a lack of
faith in Israel's intentions. Its conclusions showed that 90% believe Sharon's
government is not serious in reaching a peace agreement that can end the
Palestine-Israeli conflict. Those polled said they viewed the US bias in
favour of Israel as a cause of hostile feelings towards the US.

Almost 50% of those polled in the
West Bank have relatives who live in America.

Many Palestinian leaders have called
on the US and Europe to match their words on the creation of a Palestinian
state with action. 'We don't need photo opportunities or declarations that
are not implemented,' said senior official Yasser Abed Rabbo.

'This is the litmus test,' said Ziad
Abu Amar, a member of the Palestinian Legis lative Council. ''Those leaders
who say they are fighting terror have to intervene in a forceful fashion
and make Sharon realise that he is no longer the only player on the field.
He may have to bow down a little now as he no longer feels certain of US
support.''